Rajender Singh v. 1. Town Vending Committee Through Chairperson & ANR.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Date of Decision: 15th April, 2025 + W.P.(C) 4656/2025, CM APPLs. 21553/2025 & 21554/2025 RAJENDER SINGH .....Petitioner Through:

Ms. Aastha Dhawan, Advocate.

versus TOWN VENDING COMMITTEE THROUGH CHAIRPERSON & ANR.

.....Respondents Through:

None.

CORAM:

JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUSTICE RAJNEESH KUMAR GUPTA Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral) 1.

This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. 2.

The present writ petition has been filed by the Petitioner - Rajender Singh under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of appropriate directions to the Respondents to include the Petitioner in the survey being conducted by the Town Vending Committee under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood & Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme of 2019 (hereinafter, the Scheme) and to further grant a certificate of vending to the Petitioner. Additionally, the Petitioner is also seeking allocation of a temporary site in a permissible area in or around Connaught Place. 3.

The Petitioner claims to be a vendor vending from a site at Gate No.2, Palika Bazar, Connaught Place, New Delhi. As per the Petitioner, he had also filed a writ petition earlier, being W.P.(C) 4188/2011 titled Rajender Singh v. New Delhi Municipal Corporation & Ors., along with various other

similarly placed Petitioners. The said writ petitions were disposed of on 03rd June, 2011 in the following terms:

"5. Accordingly, all these petitions are disposed of with the direction to the respondent NDMC to not disturb the petitioner(s) from their present hawking/squatting sites as stared in the respective petitions till the Vending Committee completes the exercise of determining the status of their eligibility. The same is however subject to the following three conditions:- a) That the petitioner(s) shall not induct anyone else at the hawking sites.

b) That the petitioner(s) shall comply with the requirements of the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors and the Master Plan for Delhi 2021.

c) That the petitioner(s) shall not deal many in any licensable articles.

6.

It is further ordered that if any· of the petitioner(s) are found eligible for allotment of a vending site under the scheme, the aforesaid interim protection will continue to operate in their favour till such time that the respondent NDMC implements the scheme of allotment of the vending sites.

7.

The petitions and all pending applications are disposed of. No order as to costs.

Dasti under signature of court master."

4.

The submission made by the Petitioner in the present petition is that his name appears at number 268 in the list of 628 vendors which was prepared by the New Delhi Municipal Council (hereinafter, 'NDMC') pursuant to the orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 12th October, 2012 in Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No.(s) 1765/2012 titled 'Salim v. NDMC & Anr.' 5.

As per the current status, the Palika Bazar area has now been declared as a non-vending zone. It is submitted on behalf of the Petitioner that he had

thus filed another writ petition being W.P.(C) 159/2017 titled Rajender Singh v. New Delhi Municipal Corporation & Ors wherein vide order dated 14th November, 2019 the Court dismissed the petition in default for nonprosecution. 6.

Thereafter since the 2019 Scheme came into effect, the NDMC has commenced a survey of all the vendors.

7.

The prayers have been considered. In the background facts set out above, subject to verification, the Petitioner would be entitled to participate in the survey and the seniority of the Petitioner shall be kept in mind. In so far as the prayer for an alternate site is concerned, the NDMC may consider allotment of a site bearing in mind the seniority of the Petitioner and subject to the availability of a space. Let the alternate space be allotted within a period of two months.

8.

The present writ petition is disposed of in above terms. All the pending applications are also disposed of.

PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE RAJNEESH KUMAR GUPTA JUDGE APRIL 15, 2025/MR/ss